Claws and Kisses

“Do you ever stop sneaking around places you’re not supposed to be?” A voice drawled from behind me. I whipped around to see Bear standing there, leaning against a wall with an apple in hand. She mockingly bit some off, keeping her ebony eyes locked on me. “Or is this something I need to be concerned about?”

I crossed my arms defensively, glancing away quickly. “I’m just trying to find Rhett. My brother.”

“Ah,” she nodded, chewing some more. “The twin.”

Early that morning, I had woken up in a cold sweat. Dreams of Avel had haunted me throughout the night. Now that we were in such close proximity, I felt myself wanting to be in his presence. It had reached the ridiculous point where I did not even care if he spoke or paid any attention at all to me. Just being near him would be enough.

For eight years, our unfinished business and unbreakable friendship had pressed heavily on my mind. Even though I still wanted to talk to him about the slaves and releasing them from their bonds, I knew there was more that I wanted from him. He had been my closest companion in childhood, and our friendship had made leaving him harder. When he was gone, I had . . . I had felt impossibly lonely. I’d find myself searching for his face in crowded rooms or behind the shadows of the trees, secretly wishing to be with him once more. A relationship like that doesn’t just end with a fight and a walkout. Whether or not Valentina had come to our village, I knew that I would have crawled my way back to him, one way or another.

There was now another problem I faced. One that I wasn’t . . . entirely ready to deal with. Since seeing Avel, on that throne, with his new face and body, I had . . . felt things I had never felt before. Thought thoughts that frightened me in their depth. I did not know how I was going to be around him for three more months, knowing that he only saw me as his childhood friend.

Not that I wanted more than that. Friendship was all I needed, but . . . there was no denying his gorgeous. His strength. The quiet way he moved and the confident way he spoke. It was enticing and arousing and all these things that I did not need him to be. I was afraid that I would do something stupid in the midst of getting too caught up in his aura. His entire being that pounded with life and power.

I knew that I was not the only one who found him so. Last night was all that I needed to tell that the other female dragons in his horde had found him more than likable. Even some of the males would toss him appreciative glances. After Avel had left last night and I was able to think about the day’s events, I remember feeling . . . rage. Jealousy and rage. I had wanted to tear the eyes out of the skulls of all those who looked at him with lust in their gazes.

How pathetic. Eight years and I was expecting him to have not moved on one bit. Of course there were going to be women and men who found him attractive. I was only an outsider, stopping in for a short time before moving on to the next phase of my life.

So I just nodded my head at Bear and said, “Do you know where he is?”

The mischievous woman just took another bite and hopped off the wall, moseying past me. “I do not concern myself in the dealings of mortals. You would have a better chance of asking a rock than a dragon to find your human.”

The scent of honey and jasmine wafted towards me as she strutted past, swaying her hips in a sensual way. The dress she wore was tight-fitting, and moulded to her body perfectly. I shifted my eyes from her body to her face, only to find her smirking suggestively at me.

“You know, it’s rude to stare, lovely.” She took another bite, the action slower this time. Her crimson red lips dragged across the green surface in a dramatic fashion, drawing attention to her playfully pouty mouth.

My cheeks turned to an intense shade of pink. “Uh . . .”

She laughed loudly, shaking her head in a way that made her curls bounce. “Come on, honey.” She paused at the threshold of the staircase, waiting for me at the base. “I’ll take you to your dear twin.”

I reluctantly followed after her, never letting my gaze stray far from her figure. She was like a ghost—there one second and gone the next. For my sake, she made sure to stay only a couple of feet in front of me.

A curious thought popped into my head, and I asked her, “Yesterday . . . did you really knock out Bruce?”

The she-dragon grinned, her pearly white teeth glowing. “It was only a love tap, don’t worry.”

My brows furrowed. “Was Avel the one who sent you after me?”

She glanced back at me, a taunting quirk to her smile. “So the mortal can think for herself, can she? What a surprise. Our esteemed dragon lord will be so very pleased to hear.”

We turned a corner, heading in the direction of the throne room from yesterday. I frowned. Why would Rhett be in the throne room? The only logical conclusion is that he was swept up by a new dragon mistress. The sting of tears pricked my eyes, but I quickly blinked it away. He was fine. Whatever had happened to him, he would be fine. He always was. We’ll get through this.

As Bear sashayed forward, chucking her apple from one hand to the other, I smirked and said, “For all your ill-talk of Romeo, you two are quite alike.”

We both reached the double doors. She laughed, the sound high and false. It cut off sharply as she lifted one side of her lip, showcasing the fangs of a dragon. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, sweetheart.” She backed off, smiling wickedly. “I may be sweet on you, but don’t let that fool you. Us dragons bite first and think later.”

Shaken a little, as was her intention, I turned from her curtly and marched through the doors. A sense of deja vu overtook me as I strode in. Instead of the sea of dragons and slaves that had occupied the room yesterday night, the chamber stood empty and barren of all life. I skirted down the stairs, having half a mind to rush out the door and lay into Bear for leading me the wrong way.

Just as I decided on doing just that, the doors on the opposite side of the room burst open. Instinct had me backing up, and I was soon behind a statue near the stairs. I watched from afar as an entourage of dragons entered the room. All of them were decked out in military garb, indicating they were part of the army of dragons that controlled the vast set of lands made of humans and dragons alike.

In the center of the group were two men. One, I instantly recognized as Avel. He stood out liking a shining star in their group, dressed similarly to the other men. His armor was made of pure gold, and I knew it to be a symbol of his power as a dragon lord. Dragons had an insatiable desire for the aureate substance, and dragon lords were beasts in particular who reveled in collecting as much gold as they could and keeping it in treasure hoards.

The other man was unfamiliar. He was not as tall as Avel and his shoulder were not quite as broad. His armor was dull and plain in comparison, but the strength of his character was all the more prevalent in the way he marched about and spoke in that deep voice of his.

“Dragon Lord,” the man stopped beside Avel in the center of the room, turning to him with a grim expression. “The news of Loch’s death is iminent. As soon as his passing sets forth, I will have my soldiers march here. You know that you have my full support. And if I know the other generals well, Mathias and Rubio will be keen on joining you too. I have contacted them already, notifying them of my decision.”

Avel nodded, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. “If the information my scouts have collected hold any merit, he will be dead before the end of the week. By then, things will start moving quickly. Get your soldiers here as fast as possible. Mathias and Rubio’s too.”

There was a lull in the conversation as the presumed general fidgeted slightly. “My lord,” he spoke in a hushed whisper, making it so that even I had trouble hearing him. “You are aware of all the stakes? It is to my knowledge that the events of the coming months will not be pretty. I’ve also come to know that you have recently . . .”

Another pause. A pregnant one this time. Avel, of course knowing what the older man meant, nodded with a faint smile. “Ah,” he said. “Yes, you have heard correctly.”

He guffawed. “My lord, I do not mean to impeach, but . . . I also have heard that the creature walks unmarked. Vulnerable. With the coming events, I would have thought you would have thrown it in a cage and made sure that door stayed locked forever. Your enemies will—”

“I’m well aware of what my enemies wish, Dyan.” Avel waved away the issue, dismissing it with a flick of his hand. “By the time of Loch’s death, everything will be well-handled. It is of no concern.”

“Of course, my lord. Of course.” He nodded quickly, bowing deeply before heading to the door. The entourage, who had been quietly murmuring throughout their conversation, followed after. “Send word of any more news, lord. I am at your disposal.”

Avel watched Dyan leave, an empty look adorning his features. My heart beat loudly as I spied on him, once again enraptured by his mere presence. He looked absolutely ravishing in those clothes of his. I could have spent all day gazing at him, taking in the lines and curves that made him so beautifully perfect.

I was so consumed in my heady thoughts that I didn’t even notice when Avel’s feet shifted, and he suddenly face my direction. Out of the blue, I heard the distant words, “Come here, little tiger. There is no need to hide from me.”

Alarmed and zapped out of my wanderings, I tripped as I stepped out from behind the statue. I fell on my ass, all the blood in my body rushing to my cheeks as I blushed furiously. I peered up to see Avel, no longer a great distance away, but only a few feet from me with an amused tilt of the head.

“Going somewhere?”

I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. The embarrassment I was feeling was a whole new level of humiliation, and I desperately climbed to my feet, searching frantically for an excuse to make my spying on him seem less stalkerish. “Um, oh!—Avel, I didn’t see you there. I was just, um, looking for my shoe. Yeah, behind . . . behind the statue. The statue. Right there.”

One black-blue eyebrow rose in an arrogant, knowing way. “You were looking for your shoe?”

Our eyes both locked on my clearly slippered feet, but I just nodded anyways and lifted my chin. “Yeah, my shoe. It’s a, er, different shoes than these.”

The dragon lord dipped his head slowly. “Of course.” He prowled closer, making it so that he towered effortlessly above my frame. He did not reach for me, but simply stood there in all of his heavenly might, looking like the devil in disguise. As if reading my thoughts, he smirked and said, “Staring is impolite, you know.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped away from him to get some air. “You sound just like Bear.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, his eyes now flickering over me and the fresh pair of breeches I wore. His lips curled in a frown. “What are those?”

I looked down at my pants in confusion, not understanding his sudden coldness. “This morning I had no clothes to wear, so I asked one of the guards if they could bring me something to wear. They were kind enough to loan me these pants.”

His frown deepened. “You have an entire armoire filled with clothing.”

I cocked my head, staring up at him blankly. “I just assumed that room was for a high lady in your court. I did not want to be caught wearing another woman’s fancy dresses. So I just asked the soldiers.”

“And,” he growled, his tone matching the grating of rocks. “You decided that the best course of action was to wear another man’s clothes?”

I scrunched my nose. “You make it sound dirty or something.”

He looked ready to say something else, but he stopped and inhaled roughly before grabbing my arms and drawing me to his side. I let him steer me forward to the door that led to my room upstairs. He opened the side door and prodded me in, motioning up the stairs. “Go change, little tiger. Those breeches will do you no good here.”

I bit my lip playfully, staring up at him with wanderlust in my gaze. “But how will I be able to fly on your back in a dress? It simply won’t do.”

The dragon lord shook his head. “There will be no flying today, Wendy. However, you will becoming to lunch with me. There is someone I would like you to meet, and Rhett will be there as well.”

My heart instantly swelled at the mention of my twin, and I nodded quickly before he continued. “Until then, Romeo will be by shortly to watch over you.” I immediately opened my mouth to protest but he cut me a meaningful look before I could say a thing. “I rather you get along with him for now, little tiger. Do your best to behave.”

I bristled at the word behave. I’m not a child to be babysat. “This is ridiculous. I do not need Romeo of all people to play keeper. I’m a perfectly capable woman who can do things on my own. I don’t need Romeo or anyone else.”

Avel rolled his eyes, nodding in an insincere fashion. “Of course, tiger. Apologies.” He turned from me then, heading out the door. “On that note, Romeo is simply stopping by for an extended period to keep you company.”

I glared at his back. “That’s not funny, Avel.”

“Sure it is,” he said, smirking once more. He turned back one last time, his purple gaze resting heavily on me. “Be good for the next couple of hours. Don’t attack Romeo.” His eyes ran up and down once more, icy. “And for the love of the gods, change.”

He left before I could even ask about his conversation with the general. Perhaps, if he did not mind all that much, I could ask him about it at lunch. I wandered who Avel could want to introduce me to as I marched up the stairs.

It’ll have to wait for now, I thought.

And another one done. Phew! *wipes brow dramatically* I hope you all enjoyed the long chapter. I know that wait was a little longer than normal so thank you for hanging in there! You guys are actually the best.

Had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It's probably chalk-full of mistakes because I was super sleep-deprived when I wrote it and was only running on caffeine, adrenaline, and the will of God, so . . . oh well.

Anyways, that's all for now folks. Another chapter update coming soon (hopefully). Hope you enjoyed :)

~Elaine